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On 18 October 2024, the Federal Council approved the ‘Fourth Act to Reduce Bureaucracy for Citizens, Business and the Administration’. The Bundestag had already passed the law on 26 September 2024. From 1 January 2025, important changes will come into force: the written form requirement of Section 550 BGB in commercial tenancy law will be replaced by the text form requirement (Section 126b BGB). This means that in future it will be possible to conclude and amend long-term property usage and commercial leases digitally by email, PDF or messenger. ⏳ A transitional period of twelve months applies to existing leases, i.e. until 1 January 2026, these contracts can still be terminated in accordance with Section 550 BGB if there is a lack of written form. ❗ It is true that concluding a contract in text form in accordance with Section 126b BGB appears simpler and faster. However, concluding contracts digitally creates new risks for formal errors. …

On 28 August 2020, the BMWK presented a draft bill that aims to establish a uniform regulation for the participation of citizens and municipalities in renewable energy installations. Until now, operators have been able to voluntarily involve local authorities in accordance with Section 6 of the Renewable Energy Sources Act and the federal states have had the option of issuing more extensive provisions on citizen participation and increasing acceptance for the construction of plants. Some federal states such as Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saarland have made use of this and have already passed laws on mandatory public participation, which has now led to inconsistent state legislation. An attempt at standardised federal regulation failed three years ago due to constitutional doubts. Now the BMWK is making a new attempt to at least limit the scope of the federal states.

Recent judgements by the OVG Bautzen and the OVG Koblenz make it clear that the expansion of wind energy and monument protection (in this case even as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) can be compatible. The most important lessons learnt from the decisions: 👉 Monument protection and climate protection: both aspects must be in harmony. The courts emphasise that monument protection does not automatically take precedence over climate protection and the expansion of renewable energies. 👉 Visibility is crucial: Wind turbines that are barely perceptible from a greater distance do not constitute a significant impairment of cultural heritage. Visibility alone does not justify rejection. 👉 Flexibility in the event of deviations: Small deviations, such as in the height of wind turbines, are not considered critical by the courts and can be corrected. 👉 Case-by-case assessment instead of a blanket ban: The courts emphasise that a blanket rejection …

In its ruling of 17 July 2024, published on 26 September 2024, the XI. Senate of the BFH ruled that the supply of electricity, which the landlord of residential property generates himself via a photovoltaic system and supplies to his tenants for a fee, is not a dependent ancillary service of the VAT-exempt (long-term) letting of residential property, but an independent service subject to VAT, which entitles the tenant to deduct input tax from the input services, as the law allows the tenant to freely choose the electricity provider and the electricity supply is billed separately and according to individual consumption (differentiation from the BFH judgement of 07. 12.2023, V R 15/21, BStBl II 2024, 503, on the input tax deduction for the supply of a heating system). In the course of this, the XI Senate of the BFH dismissed the tax office's appeal against the judgement of the Lower Saxony Fiscal Court of 25 February 2021, 11 K 201/19, as unfounded in ac…

On 28 August 2020, the BMWK presented a draft bill that aims to establish a uniform regulation for the participation of citizens and municipalities in renewable energy installations. Until now, operators have been able to voluntarily involve local authorities in accordance with Section 6 of the Renewable Energy Sources Act and the federal states have had the option of issuing more extensive provisions on citizen participation and increasing acceptance for the construction of plants. Some federal states such as Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saarland have made use of this and have already passed laws on mandatory public participation, which has now led to inconsistent state legislation. An attempt at standardised federal regulation failed three years ago due to constitutional doubts. Now the BMWK is making a new attempt to at least limit the scope of the federal states. Accordingly,…

After almost a year of consultation, the Bundestag passed the BImSchG amendment in June. The law also contains key new regulations in the area of repowering: 🔁 5-H regulation: extension of distance and time requirements Extension of the scope of application of the repowering regulations to turbines that are erected within 48 months (instead of the previous 24 months) after the dismantling of the existing turbine and at a maximum distance of five times the total height of the turbine 🔁 Reduced inspection requirements for changes to the turbine type If the turbine type is changed to a small extent (max. 8 metre distance, 20 metre increase, 8 metre reduction in rotor run-out), reduced inspection requirements apply 🔁 Fictitious approval Repowering projects to change the type of turbine and those that are carried out without structural changes or replacement of parts are deemed to be approved after six weeks if no official decision has been issued.